Mendeley

You can add a reference citation to Mendeley in at least 5 ways. Here's how:

1. Drag and drop PDFs or other files from your computer directly into the All Documents folder of MY LIBRARY.

2. File > Add Files/Folder, then use your computer's Finder (Mac) or Browse box (PC) to search for your folder or documents.

3. Set up a Watch Folder. Go to Mendeley Desktop > Preferences > Watched Folders. Select the folder in your computer's hard drive that you want Mendeley to automatically import from. With a Watched Folder, any time you add a new file to it, such as a downloaded PDF, it will automatically upload to your Mendeley Library.

4. File > Add Entry Manually to type or paste your citation data into Mendeley Desktop.

5. File > Import to import data in various formats: BibTeX (*.bib), EndNoteXML (*.xml), RIS (*.ris), or Zotero Library (zotero.sqlite).

After importing, it is extremely important that you review and edit the metadata (title, author, etc.) for your entries. This will insure your Works Cited pages and Bibliographies are generated correctly. Be sure the Type (Journal Article, Book Section, etc.) is correct for the document or citation you are importing. If the Type fields do not include something that you need for a certain citation style, edit the Type template by going to Mendeley Desktop > Preferences > Document Details. Check the fields you want to appear on a certain Document type template. For example, you can add a 'Medium' field to the Journal Article Document Type so that you can comply with MLA style and add 'Print' or 'Web' as needed.

TIP: You can also import references from another citation manager. After exporting the data from your old citation manager, you can drag and drop the .xml file into your Mendeley Desktop.